The Visit Home
by cdunbar
Summary: The Doctor and his companion, Bella Swan, visit Bella’s father in Forks, Washington on a seemingly normal day. But events quickly lead them down a different path and they meet some unexpected allies. Written for the Summer '09 Gift Exchange.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** The Doctor and his companion, Bella Swan, visit Bella's father in Forks, Washington on a seemingly normal day. But events quickly lead them down a different path and they meet some unexpected allies. Will they be able to help the inhabitants of Forks before it's too late?

**A/N:** Thank you to the people who helped me write this – DQRC for brit picking and Le Jen for boosting my self-esteem. This started out as a prompt for the Twilight Gift Exchange Summer '09: Doctor Who (David Tennant, yum)/Twilight crossover (i.e., Edward is the Doctor, Bella is his companion, and - lol - Jacob can be K-9).

I changed it a bit. The Doctor is still very much the Doctor, as played by David Tennant, because it seemed wrong to make him anyone other than who he is.

The only person who is really different from the books is Bella.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight, Doctor Who, or any of their characters.

* * *

**Prologue**

Out of the thin morning mist a figure appeared, stopped and sniffed the air. He was quickly flanked by two others like him.

Predators.

'North,' he instructed before taking off in that direction, not bothering to wait or coddle them. If they couldn't keep up, they didn't deserve to hunt with him.

The smell of blood and life caressed his senses, filling his head with its musky, sweet scent until the venom flowed freely down his throat. A thrill of knowing what would soon come made him smile ruthlessly. The hunt – that was what he lived for, why he was created.

Tracking, running, tearing down, and then finally that millisecond before taking his fill – it drove him. It was his only purpose in life. And how he loved it.

He loved playing with his food sometimes. Taunting it, hurting it, until it broke and begged, _begged_ for its tiny, insignificant life. Didn't it know he didn't feel remorse for taking life? Didn't it know that this was how nature worked? The strong killed the weak. He was not bound by the same rules commanded by the food's god. He was above the god of prey, the god of humans.

He was his own god.

And no one could stop him.

That was the last thought he had before embracing the hunt and letting it take him over to become the animal, the monster that he was.

A second later, he leapt at the lone unsuspecting man who had decided to "get back to nature" for one weekend and camp by himself in the woods. The rangers had cautioned him about the wildlife that lurked in this forest, but he'd paid no mind. He carried a rifle with him for those nuisances.

But this was a different matter altogether. No one could have warned him about this, because no one knew this threat existed.

The hunter decided not to play today. He was too hungry.

James swiftly cut off his food's screams with a violent ripping tear and succumbed to the blood's power and the pleasure that strengthened him once more.

* * *

**Chapter One**

With a tremendous swell of sound, much like short bursts of metal scraping along a cement floor, where once only air and empty space had been, a blue box appeared. It was faint at first, but rapidly became solid and with a final thump, the TARDIS finished its arrival. The door swung open and out popped a head of brown hair.

'Is this it, then?' asked Bella, the girl to whom that head of brown hair belonged. 'This is Forks?' She looked at the green upon green scenery and forest as the early morning fog dissipated under the newly risen sun and muttered to herself, 'I don't remember it being this green.'

When her mother had told her, rather bluntly, during their last phone conversation that she needed to visit her father to assure him she was alive and well and to not start a nation-wide manhunt for the man he thought had kidnapped her, Bella reluctantly agreed. She didn't enjoy visiting Forks, the wettest, cloudiest, greenest place on earth, but she didn't want her father to needlessly worry about her.

It didn't matter that she had grown up in London, a formidable competitor to Forks when considering average rainfall per year, but Forks always felt damper to her somehow.

Thankfully it wasn't raining, which was all she needed to know. She turned back to shout into the TARDIS interior. 'Come on, Jake!'

'Jake?' the Doctor exclaimed in confusion, whipping off his black plastic glasses as he jumped into her path of sight. 'Did you just call me Jake?'

'No, I called K-9 Jake,' Bella clarified with a shake of her head. 'I felt like he should have a proper name, instead of something that sounded like a cleaning product.'

'You can't just go around changing someone's name! Especially when it reads 'K-9' right along the side of him!' he pointed out.

Bella shrugged. 'You can change that, right?'

'Why Jake?' he asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes and his trademark smirk firmly in place.

'Why not? I s'pose he just looks like a Jake.'

'Fair enough, but why don't we consult K-9 before we go changing his name on him?' The Doctor knelt down to the robotic dog, which had been patiently waiting next to the Doctor's feet during his and Bella's brief exchange. 'Well, ol' boy? What do you say? Do you like the name Jake?'

'Master may call me whichever name he wishes,' K-9 stated in his monotone robotic voice.

'That's not really an answer then, is it?' mused the Doctor out loud to no one in particular.

Bella knelt down and tried. 'Do you mind if I call you Jake?'

'No, Mistress,' K-9 replied.

She nodded her head decisively. 'That settles it.' Bella looked over Jake's head at the Doctor. 'I'm going to call him Jake from now on. You heard him, he doesn't mind.'

The Doctor mumbled something under his breath that sounded like headstrong human, but Bella couldn't be sure. They both straightened up and started for the door at the same time. Bella paused and looked down at Jake. 'On second thought, maybe it would be best if he stayed behind. I don't know how the people in this town would take to a robotic dog trailing behind us.'

'From what your mother insinuated, your father is going to hate me on sight. I might need the backup if things get ugly,' teased the Doctor.

'Oh, please. Charlie's not vindictive. He might be a policeman, but he's not going to pull his gun on you.'

'Okay,' the Doctor sighed. 'K-9... er, I mean Jake,' he corrected after a pointed look from Bella, 'You stay here and look after the TARDIS. The thought pattern collector needs to be refluxed anyway and see what you can do about the scanner. It's been a bit wonky since that meteor hit us.'

'Don't you mean since you hit that meteor?' Bella asked.

The Doctor mock-glared at her. 'Don't be cheeky. That meteor clearly had it in for us, thus diverting from its intended path and hitting us in mid-flight.'

Bella just laughed and shook her head.

'Yes, Master,' Jake answered, rolling away toward the TARDIS main controls.

The Doctor extended his bent arm out. 'Shall we?'

Bella wrapped her hand around his forearm, just below his elbow. 'We shall.'

It was a short ten minute walk to Charlie's house from the TARDIS' landing spot in the forest along the outskirts of town. The pair saw only two people during their walk, neither of whom Bella recognized from the handful of times she had visited her father during her childhood. Upon reaching the correct street, Bella consulted the piece of paper containing Charlie's home address that she'd received from her mother.

'Shouldn't be far now,' she mumbled, actually starting to feel nervous about seeing her father again after so much time had passed.

'Alright?' the Doctor asked, feeling Bella's hand trembling upon his arm. He covered her hand with his own and squeezed tight.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Bella lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and strode forward until they reached Charlie's front door. Then she promptly lost her nerve. 'You knock,' she instructed, pushing the Doctor between her and the door.

He shook his head and pulled her around to his side as he lifted his hand to knock. His fist struck only once before the door was wretched open by an older man in a hurry, struggling to put his coat on while gathering up his keys and opening the door.

'Bella!' Charlie, Bella's father, yelled in surprise, pausing in mid-motion with his arm only halfway through his coat's sleeve when he saw Bella standing before him on his door stoop. 'What are you doing here? What happened? Is everything okay?'

Charlie looked further up to see a strange man in a striped three-piece suit with hair that stuck up in various directions standing beside his daughter. His eyes narrowed in anger, knowing this was the man who had taken Bella away from Renee and the only life she had known.

'Hey, Dad,' greeted Bella, conscious of the sudden change in Charlie's demeanor. 'Is this a bad time? Do we need to come back?'

Charlie shook his head and focused on Bella again. 'I was just called to a crime scene about an hour south of here that I need to go to...' He trailed off, stuck at a crossroads. He wanted to visit with his daughter, whom he rarely spoke to and saw even less of since she resided an ocean away, but on the other hand, Officer Reynolds had told him this was urgent and all hands were needed on deck.

The Doctor, sensing an opportunity to involve himself in something new and potentially adventurous, leapt forward and stuck out his hand, grinning his most enthusiastic grin. 'Hullo! It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlie Swan.'

Charlie looked at him darkly and shook the man's hand, putting unneeded muscle behind the courteous gesture. 'You must be the Doctor. Renee's told me _so much_ about you,' he ground out between clenched teeth.

'All good stuff, I'm sure,' the Doctor replied, unwavering in his outright glee at meeting Bella's father. 'Why don't we come with you?' he suggested. 'It'll give you and Bella time to catch up.'

Charlie didn't know how he felt about that idea. He didn't want to bring Bella to a particularly violent crime scene, but he gave in when he saw her hopeful expression. 'Fine,' he conceded with a sigh. 'Just as long as you stay in the car until I'm done.'

'With pleasure, Char- Dad. You know I hate the sight of blood.'

Charlie led the way to his police cruiser, taking a distinct pleasure of opening the back door where criminals usually went and ushering the Doctor inside. Once everyone was settled in, Charlie pulled out of the driveway and braked a little too hard in reverse, hard enough to make everyone jerk forward. Bella sent him a startled look.

'Sorry,' he mumbled, tentatively pressing on the gas to start driving again. 'I'm not used to having other people in the car with me.'

'Don't you have a partner?' Bella asked, suddenly realizing she didn't know much about her father's life. Their phone calls were focused briefly on her life and school, but rarely was the conversation turned onto him. Nothing more than the usual 'I'm fine. Work's fine.' was Bella's only insight into Charlie's life.

Charlie shook his head. 'I'm the Sheriff. I don't need a partner.'

'Oh,' she said, frowning because, while Charlie seemed self-sufficient, no one should be alone as much as he appeared to be. It made her feel like a horrible daughter for running off with the Doctor and neglecting her family, the people whom she loved more than any others on Earth.

Bella snuck a glance back at the Doctor, who was staring serenely out the side window and muttering to himself under his breath about one of the million things she knew he was thinking at that given moment. Was it fair for her to abandon him just to spend time with Charlie? Wouldn't that be like trading in one lonely man for another? The Doctor may be unable to say the words, but Bella knew he needed her around to keep him sane, to keep him from becoming that destructive, impulsive man he was when she first met him.

Charlie interrupted Bella's musings with a clearing of his throat. 'So… what have you been up to, kid?'

Bella winced at being called 'kid' in front of the Doctor. 'Oh, you know, the usual. Traveling through time and space. Saving races of aliens and humankind from being destroyed, or destroying themselves.'

She'd meant it as a joke, but Charlie didn't laugh. He didn't even crack a smile.

'Um… joking, Dad,' Bella said nervously. 'I'm sure Mum told you what happened last year.'

'About the spaceship? Yeah, she confirmed what the news reported,' Charlie replied, keeping his eyes on the road, but thinking back to that night when his heart had seized while footage of a giant spaceship hovering over the Buckingham Palace was shown on every channel. His only thought had been about Renee's and Bella's safety, and after being unable to reach them for hours, he'd finally gotten through only to have Renee tell him this crazy story about how Bella and this strange, older man had run off together. Suffice it to say, it was a memorable night for him.

'After I helped the Doctor with that situation, he invited me to travel with him and that's what I've been doing ever since,' she quickly summarized, not wanting to get into specifics because if Charlie knew how many times her life had been placed in danger, he'd probably lock her up in a cell and never let her out. He'd argue that it was for her own safety, of course.

Charlie snorted in disbelief, but didn't push the subject. And the Doctor stayed uncharacteristically silent in the backseat, which Bella was glad for because this was one place where butting his nose in would only make the situation worse.

'What have you been doing since I last spoke to you, Dad?' Bella inquired.

He shrugged, glancing sideways at his daughter. 'Fighting crime, harassing rambunctious and wild teenagers, keeping Forks a safer place. The mayor said my cape should arrive in the mail any day.'

'Dad… did you just make a joke?' Bella asked in astonishment.

'Yeah, I guess I did,' he replied, giving her a quick half-smile. Bella laughed, affectively easing the tension in the car and father and daughter began speaking more openly about the events in their life during their separation. The Doctor did occasionally butt his nose in when he thought Bella was explaining something poorly.

'No, it's Raxacoricofallapatorius. Why can you never say it properly?' admonished the Doctor in his "I'm a genius and you're not" tone. At least that was the title Bella had placed on that particular tone.

'Aren't we all high and mighty? I'll have you know it's a very difficult word to pronounce and I do the best I can,' Bella snipped back, having lived through this argument more than a few times already.

'Ooh, it's not that difficult. I bet Charlie here could say it.'

Bella and the Doctor both turned to Charlie at the same time. He waved one hand in the air and shook his head. 'I'm not involving myself in this. You guys need to work this out on your own.'

And so it went the entire drive until they spotted the flashing lights in the distance. Charlie maneuvered his squad car around a group of people huddled together near the back of a fire truck and parked between two other squad cars.

'Stay. Here,' Charlie reiterated to Bella sternly, even going so far as to point in an authoritative "Sheriff" manner.

'Yes, sir.' Bella saluted playfully.

'This is serious, Bella. I don't want you to get in trouble, wandering around an ongoing criminal investigation.'

She sobered up. 'Alright. I'll stay here.'

Charlie nodded and left, not bothering to tell the Doctor to stay put since he was in the back and couldn't open the doors from the inside. Bella looked back at the Doctor once the door shut behind Charlie and he had walked away from the car. The Doctor grinned mischievously and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He quickly pointed the screwdriver at the side door behind Bella and opened it, looking around to see if anyone took notice of a sharply dressed man stepping out the back of a police car without assistance from the outside.

Confirming the way was clear, he jumped out and abruptly turned to tap on the passenger side window. Bella rolled it down and poked her head out.

'You coming?' the Doctor asked. Bella pulled a face and glanced over to the people milling around, talking to each other in loose clumps around a blocked off part of forest.

'You know I hate the sight of blood,' she replied, color draining from her face at the thought of voluntarily walking up to a murder victim.

The Doctor nodded once, knowing Bella's aversion to all bodily liquids. 'Stay here and don't wander off, then. You never know what could be lurking in those trees.'

He walked away, whistling a cheery jaunt under his breath, not knowing Bella had turned pale white and was now peering into the dense trees, leery of any shadow or slightest movement.

* * *

The Doctor made sure to dodge Charlie by walking a wide circle around him and the two men he was talking with as he headed toward the clearly marked off area where the body lie. A pretty, red-headed woman officer stopped him once he reached the outside perimeter of the taped off area.

'May I see some ID, sir?' she asked politely, holding a hand out to indicate he was to step no further until she was appeased. Without taking his eyes off the body a few metres away, the Doctor pulled out his slightly-psychic paper and flashed it at her.

'So sorry, sir. I didn't realize they had already called in the FBI,' she apologized.

'Yes, well, we've taken a special interest in this case,' he lied, rather convincingly actually after years of worming his way into restricted areas.

She allowed him through and – what luck! – he was the only one around.

His black-rimmed spectacles jammed on to his face, he bent down to give the body a quick examination. 'Hello, hello, hello...' he muttered, seeing something off about the massive tearing at the throat. 'What have we here?'

He stood back up and mused out loud, as he was prone to do. 'Why is it that whenever you think a species has been fully eradicated, they always crop back up at the most unlikely time?'

'Shouldn't the real question be "why do they always find you"?' Bella asked from behind him.

The Doctor spun around and broke into a broad smile. 'Oi! What are you doing here?'

Bella shrugged, unable to stop the little smile at the show of pride coming from the Doctor. 'I couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?'

The Doctor appraised Bella for a couple seconds until she blushed and dropped her gaze to the ground. He stepped forward and lifted her chin with the curve of his pointer finger. 'You really are the most surprising person I've met in a long time.'

'Is that a good thing?' she asked meekly, looking at him from underneath her eyelashes.

'I haven't decided,' he confessed. They experienced a rare serious moment, eyes locked in silent pleading on one side and contemplation on the other. A clearing of someone's throat, rather pointedly at that, broke them out of their trance.

'Right,' the Doctor said, stepping back from Bella and turning to their interrupter. 'Any news, Sheriff?'

Charlie stood a few yards away, arms crossed, his mouth set in a deep frown. 'So glad to see you listened to me, Bella,' he said harshly.

She had the grace to look ashamed and ducked her head. 'Sorry,' she mumbled.

'I'm heading back to town, if you want a ride.' He made it a point not to include the Doctor in his invitation. Turning abruptly, he stalked off in a huff, certain Bella would follow along quickly.

Bella looked beseechingly at the Doctor.

'Go on then,' the Doctor urged. 'I want to ask some questions anyway.'

'You're sure?' she asked, drawing her coat tighter around her. The wind had picked up and now cut through the layers of her clothing like they weren't even there.

The Doctor nodded in the direction Charlie had headed. 'Go. I'll find you when I'm done here.'

'Okay...' Bella trailed after her father, looking back at the man who had stolen her heart in more ways than one since that fateful day when their paths had crossed. If only he felt the same way...

But he didn't, and she knew that. Somehow... somehow she had to live with that.

It was a silent and terse ride back to Charlie's house. Charlie dropped Bella off at the house alone because he had to go back to the station to complete some paperwork. He informed her he'd be back in a few hours and to make herself at home before he left.

* * *

The Doctor took a look around him and noticed the same red-headed woman standing off to the side, frowning at a group of older gentlemen. He strode over to her, hands in his pockets, and gently asked, 'Would it be alright if I asked you some questions?'

She appeared startled, but quickly recovered to a more neutral expression; however, she poorly hid her glow from boosted pride. 'Of course.'

'Have other animal attacks of this nature occurred near here?'

'Yes, sir. There was one similar to this around Olympia, which is about 45 minutes away. And before that, we learned there was another animal attack around Mount St. Helen,' she told him in a hushed tone.

'When did they occur?'

'Oh, the Mount St Helen one was about a week and a half ago. And the one in Olympia was maybe four days ago?'

'Thank you, Officer Henley,' the Doctor said, quickly reading her name badge. 'You've been most helpful.' She smiled at him as he took his leave.

Once he'd turned his back on the crime scene, the Doctor frowned in thought. From what Officer Henley had said, it appeared the attacks were steadily moving north and would probably soon reach Forks.

Which was where Bella was… without him.

Well that wouldn't do. He needed to get back to her before something bad happened. That girl, as surprising and wonderful as she was, always managed to find herself in the middle of trouble when he wasn't around to help her out.

The Doctor stopped a police officer who stood near a row of squad cars and smiled broadly. He pulled out his slightly psychic paper again and flashed it in the officer's face. 'Hi! I'm going to need to commandeer one of these cars. Official FBI business.'

The officer, whose name was Tucker and didn't want to be here anyway because it was his day off and he could have avoided this whole thing if he'd just left his house to go on that fishing trip twenty minutes earlier than planned, quirked an eyebrow. 'If you work for the FBI, why are you English?'

The Doctor's feathers were visibly ruffled by that. 'If you must know, I was recruited from Scotland Yard.'

'Well, that's all well and good, but you can't commandeer one of the cars because this isn't a state of emergency. You're welcome to catch a ride with O'Malley, though.' He pointed to a stocky man standing in the opening of a car door, violently waving his hands in another officer's face.

'You've been a tremendous help,' observed the Doctor, who then turned abruptly and stalked over to the angry man. 'Excuse me, but are you by chance heading to Forks?'

O'Malley, his face red from yelling, swung around. 'Who wants to know?' he asked, his voice rough from years of screaming at insubordinate people.

The Doctor smiled politely and flashed the paper again. 'I need a lift, if you're going that way.'

'Sure,' O'Malley said, nodding his head to the passenger side. 'Could use someone with brains to talk to instead of these nitwits.' He jabbed his thumb behind his shoulder at the man he'd been yelling at.

'Oh-ho, this is going to be fun,' the Doctor stated, grinning ecstatically and hopping into the car. Once O'Malley started the engine up and pulled onto the road, the Doctor turned to him. 'I'm the Doctor, and you are?'

O'Malley grunted his name in answer, which caused the Doctor to grin excitedly.

'Tell me, do you know the history of the O'Malleys?'

O'Malley grunted again, rethinking his gut reaction of the skinny man sitting next to him, who was now enthusiastically using his hands while recounting the story of Grace O'Malley. Maybe it was better to stick to morons. At least they didn't regale themselves with origin tales of last names.

It was going to be a _looooong_ hour ride at this rate.

* * *

Bella was bored. Bored, bored, bored. She flopped onto the couch long ways and sighed.

She wasn't interested in any of the weekday afternoon soap operas, didn't care for sporting events – especially American ones – and had no need for _anything_ on the home shopping channels. It didn't appear Charlie was much of a reader, besides for the occasional fishing magazine. She'd already cleaned up as much as she could, although she didn't dare go into Charlie's bedroom. Whatever mess was in there, he would have to deal with by himself.

She _could_ grab a book from the TARDIS. It wasn't but a ten minute walk and she would be back before either Charlie or the Doctor knew she was gone.

And Jake might be lonely. It had been four hours since her and the Doctor had left him.

That clinched it. Bella leapt off the couch and practically skipped out of the house, just happy to have something to _do_.

While walking to the TARDIS, a minivan passed her carrying two males occupants, one driving and the other in the passenger seat. Bella looked up as it drove by and watched as both boys craned their heads around to stare at her. She shook her head sadly when the van jerked to the right quickly, barely missing the side of the front bumper of a parked car on the left-hand side of the street.

_Americans_, she thought with a superior air. _They never could drive properly._

She was maybe a hundred metres from the TARDIS when a petite girl with short, spiky black hair and glowing pale skin stepped in her path. Bella stopped short and warily watched the grinning girl as she approached.

'Hi!' the girl greeted, her grin somehow growing wider.

'Um… hi,' Bella replied, venturing a small smile in the girl's direction.

'I'm Alice,' she stated, having now stopped right in front of Bella. 'I normally don't approach people on the street, so this is new to me, but I just _had_ to meet you.'

Bella's eyebrows knotted together in confusion, but she was highly amused now at this girl's excitable nature. It reminded her of the Doctor. 'Oh? Why's that?'

Alice's eyes widened. 'I forgot you'd have an English accent.'

'How did you know I was English?' Bella asked, racking her memory banks for any instance where she might have run into this pixie girl before.

'I've heard a lot about you, Isabella. Your father likes to brag about you.'

Bella sighed and dropped her head into her hands. 'That's a bit embarrassing,' she mumbled through her hands before lifting her head back up. 'It's Bella, by the way. And why is it that you needed to meet me?'

'Right!' Alice exclaimed, casting glances around her and Bella. 'Why don't we move to a less conspicuous location? People will wander past and overhear us if we stay here.'

Bella's eyebrows arched, but she shrugged and followed the girl she somehow trusted, even though they'd just met, to a small alley behind the stores lining the street. 'You're not going to kill me now, are you?' she joked.

Alice looked shocked. 'Of course not!'

'Sorry,' Bella said, waving her hands in front of her. 'I didn't mean to vex you. I was kidding.'

'Oh… okay.' Alice seemed placated, but still hesitated on revealing her reason behind dragging Bella to an alley.

'So? Your need to meet me?' Bella prompted.

'Bella, would you call yourself an open minded person? Do you believe in things beyond the perimeters others expect the world to work within?'

Bella cracked a smile at how ironic that question was because of all the people on the planet, she was probably one of the most open minded from all the things she'd seen and done. 'I'd say I'm fairly open minded,' she said slowly, wondering where this was going.

'Good. What I'm going to tell you now, I've never told another human being before. This is a closely held secret, but it's important you know.'

'Okay…' Bella was still very much confused at this point, but willing to hear the crazy girl out.

'I see things. Not like that kid in "Sixth Sense," which was a really good movie by the way, but like I can see into the future. Rather, I have visions about the future,' Alice tried to explain.

'You… see the future,' Bella echoed. Alice nodded and Bella added, 'Alright. As cool as that is, what does it have to do with me?'

'You believe me?' Alice asked in surprise.

Bella shrugged. 'Why shouldn't I?'

'Amazing! I _knew_ you were going to be cool with it, but my sister Rosalie wouldn't stop harping on how you were going to run away screaming and blab to the first person you saw about me being crazy, and my brother Edward agreed with her, which is why he-' Alice stopped talking abruptly and looked bashful. 'Sorry. Please ignore my moment of overshare. Continuing on with my story… I saw a vision of you. Well, you and the man you're with. He's planning on hunting down the creatures responsible for the recent animal attacks, but everything's going to end horribly if my family and I don't help you.'

Bella grew slightly skeptical at this point. She knew the Doctor's plans tended to be of the "off the cuff" variety, but everything usually worked out in the end. She had complete faith in him. 'What can your family do that the Doctor can't?'

'You see, Bella, the creatures he's hunting are like me and my family.' She took a breath and stared intently into Bella's eyes. 'We're vampires.'

Bella stared back and asked flatly, 'You're a vampire?'

'Yes.'

'_You_ drink people's blood?'

'No,' Alice replied, shaking her head, 'Not people's blood, just animals. We're the good guys here, Bella. We don't intentionally kill people if we can help it.'

'_If_ you can help it?'

'Accidents happen…' Alice said tentatively.

'This doesn't make sense. You don't look very frightening. Shouldn't I be scared of you?'

Alice sighed. 'I can see this will go on for a while, which is why I brought someone to collaborate my story.' She glanced up and called out, 'Edward, you can come down now.'

_Down?_ Bella was able to think before a beautiful boy dropped gracefully to his feet a couple metres behind Alice. The air whooshed out of her lungs at the sight of him appearing out of nowhere.

Everything changed dramatically when the boy angel lifted his head, his expression pleasant as he raised his hand in greeting and took a breath. Without notice, or reason as far as Bella could see, his face contorted into disgust and his eyes widened until they were fully black like a cat's when its about to attack. Bella lifted her foot to take a step back, her feeling of frisson at the first sight of him quickly becoming one of trepidation, just as Alice disappeared from in front of her. Bella heard a thundering sound, barely perceiving Alice crashing into Edward and knocking him to the ground, creating a sizable crater in the asphalt. A roar ripped through the aftermath, followed quickly by Alice's shrill voice screaming at Bella.

'Run, Bella! RUN!'

Muscles tightened and posed to move, Bella took in the sight of Alice restraining a snarling, clawing Edward before adrenaline kicked in and she did the only thing she could. She ran.

She ran as fast as she could out of the alley, forgetting the TARDIS was close by and it could weather any attack. All she wanted was the comforting arms of her father, so to Charlie's house her feet went, her mind singularly focused on reaching the front door while she took gasping breaths in an effort to keep the sobbing tears inside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who, Twilight, or any of their characters.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

O'Malley pressed the brakes to the unmarked black squad car and it skidded to a stop outside Forks' one and only casual eatery. 'Get out,' he commanded, jerking his head to the side.

The Doctor looked around in confusion. 'But I only need to go down the street a little –'

'I don't care,' O'Malley said, cutting him off. 'I don't want to hear one more thing about the Irish Civil War or my so-called "ancestor" Ernie O'Malley. Now, get out!'

'Well, then. You don't have to be rude about it.'

O'Malley pointed at the passenger side door abruptly and the Doctor got out of the car in a huff, putting a little more muscle than needed into closing the door. He watched the car squeal off and shook his head warily.

'I was just trying to be friendly,' he muttered before starting off in the direction of the TARDIS, quickly becoming engrossed in the situation at hand once more. He needed to get back to Charlie's house to check on Bella, but first a quick stop in the TARDIS to pick up a few supplies wouldn't hurt.

And he could enlist K-9… er, Jake's help with finding this coven of vampires. Maybe Jake could think of something he was overlooking.

Unlocking the door to the TARDIS, the Doctor stepped inside and breathed in deeply.

'Ahhh, it always feels great to come back home,' he exclaimed, stretching his arms up over his head.

Jake wheeled down the metal grate floor toward the Doctor. 'Welcome back, Master,' he said with little inflection.

The Doctor took no notice, like always, and beamed. 'Thank you, Jake. Did anything happen while I was gone?'

'I refluxed the thought pattern collector and was able to reset the scanner. I also found the perception filter to be running lower than usual, so I –'

'Yes, yes. That's all well and good,' interrupted the Doctor, having just gotten a brilliant idea from something Jake said. 'Jake, can you link to the TARDIS? I need to see if what I'm theorising can be done.'

'Certainly, Master,' Jake replied, heading over to the center console. He hacked into the TARDIS and relayed that he was connected. The Doctor rushed over to the controls, punching buttons and staring at the screen with a furrowed forehead. He started mumbling under his breath as he twisted a knob and typed in a series of letters.

'Molto bene!' the Doctor shouted, grinning in triumph when it turned out his theory was correct as they almost always were. He looked down at Jake and said, 'Are you ready to go see Bella?'

'Yes, Master' came the reply. Jake unhooked himself from the control console and followed the Doctor down the ramp and through the door. The Doctor set off toward Charlie's house with hands in his front pockets and Jake in tow, but stopped when two people, a blonde man and a short, dark-haired girl, stepped into his path from the opposite direction.

'Hullo there,' he said pleasantly, mistaking them for simple townspeople.

The gentleman appeared astounded by something as the Doctor approached them, but the girl grinned quite enthusiastically, causing the Doctor to grin as well.

'Hello! I'm Alice, this is Carlisle, and you're the Doctor, right?' she asked.

'Why, yes I am. Pleasure to meet you both,' stated the Doctor and then openly stared at Carlisle. 'Is he alright?' he asked Alice.

'Oh, Carlisle? He's just trying to work out the mechanics of having two hearts but he'll snap out of it in thirty-eight seconds,' Alice replied.

'Thirty-eight seconds? That's a rather specific number… Wait, did you say two hearts? How did you know I had two hearts?'

'Because we can hear your heartbeats.' She was so matter-of-fact about it that the Doctor never doubted her for a second.

'Huh.' He swung back and forth on his heels, trying to work out how seemingly human looking beings could hear his heartbeat. Unless…

Noooo.

The look of astonishment on the Doctor's face only became more pronounced when Carlisle came back around to the conversation. Exactly thirty-eight seconds, just like the girl had said.

'I thought you were only a story, something told late at night around a fire to scare the newborns,' Carlisle said thoughtfully.

'Funny, the same could be said of you,' the Doctor pointed out, smirking.

* * *

_You shouldn't go back. That's like suicide_, pointed out Bella's reasonable side as she paced in the small space between her window and door.

_But what if he's hurt?_ emotional Bella retorted.

_This is ridiculous_, thought the actual Bella, who was once again herself and not two warring factions. _He was going to kill me. He was like a snarling deliverer of death. It doesn't matter how beautiful he is or how much pain he seemed to be in. When it comes down to it, he would have killed me if he had the chance._

_There. Decision made._

_But– _

A tap on the glass window behind Bella startled her out of her thoughts. She spun around to see what had made that noise, expecting to see a wounded bird that had flown into the glass.

But she was wrong.

There was someone kneeling outside her closed window. Someone who made her heart pound just looking at him – partly from fear, but mostly because he was the most gorgeous person Bella had ever laid eyes on.

The flight response never appeared as Bella studied the boy in the frame of her window, who happened to be frowning back at her.

Why was he frowning?

She also briefly wondered how he got up to her second story window without her hearing him before now, but all that stopped as she warily watched him lift up a piece of paper with three words written across it in bold script.

**I am sorry.**

Bella raised an eyebrow at his slightly unorthodox method of apologizing and took a step forward so she could open the window and tell him she forgave him, but he lifted a hand to caution her to approach him slowly.

Taking small steps and stopping for several beats between each movement, Bella watched his face for signs that she was going too fast. When she was about a foot away from the window, he tensed and held out his hand, palm facing forward, to make her stop.

This close to him, she could pick out specific details of his face. It wasn't as hard to look at him if she focused on small things, like his jaw or the way his eyebrows scrunched together and a little line appeared in the middle of them.

When their eyes connected, they stared at each other, marveling at the sight in front of them – a breathtakingly beautiful boy, on the cusp of manhood, and a Siren made just for his torment.

'Do you know what I am?' he asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

'Vampire,' she whispered, more to herself than to him. But he nodded as if he heard her.

...maybe he did.

'Are you scared?' His face became an expressionless sculpture, one that any artist would cut off their arm to have the opportunity to paint him just as he was.

'No,' she said quietly, shaking her head a little.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'Why not?'

She shrugged one shoulder. 'When you've been through as much as I have, you learn to accept and adapt or you'll go insane.'

'Amazing,' Edward murmured, not even realizing he had spoken out loud. He marveled at this utterly unique temptress. _In more ways than one_, he noticed, now that he was removed enough from her overwhelming scent.

'So, Edward,' Bella said slyly, one corner of her mouth quirked up. 'Why is it that one moment you trying to kill me and the next you're apologizing?'

His face dropped into one of remorse and heavy guilt. 'I am truly sorry for behaving as I did. I thought I was stronger than that, but when I smelled your…' He looked away swiftly and swallowed, obviously not wanting to complete that sentence.

So Bella did it for him.

'My blood?' she quietly asked. Edward nodded and slowly raised his eyes to look back into hers. 'And now?' she added, inching ever so closer and studying his face for any indication that he was going to turn back into a raging monster.

'It's… tolerable,' Edward replied.

Bella snorted. _Tolerable._ Just what she had always wanted to be.

Edward frowned. 'Why did you make that noise? Was something I said funny to you?'

'No…' she started to say, and then changed her mind. 'Well, just a _little_ funny.'

'I wish I could hear you,' came the unexpected response from Edward.

Now it was Bella's turn to frown. They were having a conversation. How could he not hear her?

Maybe he was a deaf vampire that read lips?

Stranger things had happened…

'I am sorry,' Bella said slowly, exaggerating her lip movements while forming the words. 'I did not know you were hearing impaired.'

Edward appeared bewildered for a second. Then his face lit up in understanding and he burst out laughing.

It was the most beautiful sound Bella had ever heard.

But she didn't appreciate being laughed at, even if it was the music found on the soundtrack to heaven.

Bella crossed her arms across her chest and waited for him to be done. When he finally settled down, she arched one eyebrow and eyed him disapprovingly, trying to fix him with the same look the Doctor gave her whenever she did something he didn't like.

'I didn't mean I'm deaf,' he explained, sobering up when he saw she was angry. 'I… uh… do you know how Alice can see the future?' Bella nodded and Edward continued, 'I can… um, read people's thoughts.'

Bella's eyes widened and her first thought was '_ Ooh, the Doctor's going to be so envious when I tell him I met a seer __and__ a telepath in one day!_'

Hold on a tick. A telepath.

Bella froze, fully understanding what he had just told her.

He can read people's thoughts.

He could read _her_ thoughts.

No, wait. He had said that he wished he could hear her. Did that mean that he couldn't hear her _thoughts_?

'So… you can't… hear me?' she asked as she worked it out in her head. Edward shook his head, his eyes intensely watching her.

'Okay,' she breathed. 'Is it just you and your sister, then?'

Edward shook his head and launched into the history of himself and his family, particularly the head of the Cullen clan, Carlisle. He found himself admitting things to this girl that he didn't even discuss with the members of his family.

Bella listened intently, asking questions when they came to her, which was often. She found that she loved listening to this boy speak. It didn't matter the subject. As long as his lips moved, she was enthralled.

Once Edward was done regaling her with stories of Emmett and Jasper's fondness of betting on the stupidest things, he started asking her questions about her life. She told him about how she met the Doctor and when she mentioned the TARDIS, Edward interrupted her, wanting to know more about it.

She explained how it was a "Time And Relative Dimension In Space" ship that had a cloaking device that used to change the outside appearance to match its surroundings, but somehow got stuck on the blue police box. The Doctor gave up trying to fix it some time ago.

Then she started in on her adventures with the Doctor.

Edward seemed mesmerized by the idea of so many planets in this universe – and so many other universes – that were home to countless species. It made him feel less alone in the world somehow.

And he was so invested in her tales that he failed to notice that she was standing directly in front of the window, leaning her shoulder against the slightly recessed frame.

Bella was just starting on one of her favorite stories, the one where the Doctor and she had barely escaped from the Dalek emperor, when Edward suddenly looked behind him and then back at her.

'Alice and Carlisle are approaching with another man. The Doctor, according to their thoughts,' Edward said.

Bella's face lit up. The Doctor! He was alright!

She had known the chances of him _not_ being alright were slim, but she still always had an uneasy feeling whenever she was separated from him for long periods of time. He found his way into more trouble than she did.

And that was saying something.

Bella grinned excitedly and flew downstairs, running out the front door and scanning the surrounding woods for the Doctor's crazy hair and billowing brown overcoat.

'Bella Swan, where on earth have you been?' called out a familiar voice. To Bella's utter shame, she completely lost it when she spotted him walking out of the trees to her right.

'Doctor!'

She ran toward him and was delighted to see that he was running to meet her too. They collided in a giant bear hug that was probably _so_ not cool, but she just didn't care. She had the Doctor back.

One short minute later, the Doctor let her go and they just grinned at each other for a moment, then both began speaking at once, stopped, started again at exactly the same moment and then stopped again, laughing.

'You first, then,' Bella said finally.

'No, no...' insisted the Doctor, 'you carry on.'

'Actually, I don't know quite where to begin,' she confessed.

The Doctor threw a look in the direction of Edward, who was standing about twenty metres behind Bella, looking very grim and almost possessive after the overt display of affection he and Bella had shown. 'How about starting with introducing the new boyfriend?' suggested the Doctor with a grin.

That earned him a lovely blush from Bella and a deeper scowl from Edward, who the Doctor almost immediately recognized as another vampire with the same colored amber eyes as Alice and Carlisle.

'This is Edward,' Bella said, recovering quickly from the Doctor's teasing. 'We were just talking,' she added, turning back and gesturing for Edward to come forward before realizing that would probably be a bad idea. She stood there, awkwardly caught between the two men, not knowing what to do.

The Doctor took charge of the situation, as he tended to do, and strode toward Edward. 'Pleased to meet you,' he said, extending a hand for the lad to shake. Edward hesitated only briefly before taking the offered hand in his.

'The pleasure is mine,' Edward replied slowly. He was having trouble concentrating with this new and startling alien man in front of him. Filtering out the thoughts coming from around him, he focused on the Doctor and heard the most astonishing things. 'What are the Great Vampires?' he whispered, actually finding it hard to keep up with all the directions the Doctor's thoughts were taking.

The Doctor smiled disarmingly as he shut his mind off to Edward with a practiced ease. 'Your ancestry, my boy. Just your ancestry.'

With that, the Doctor walked back toward Bella and with a theatric boom of his voice, proclaimed, 'You must tell me what has happened since I last saw you.'

Edward was sure his face relayed the shock he felt from someone completely blocking him. Even the own members of his family hadn't mastered that trick yet.

Who _was_ this man?

He cared for Bella, that much Edward knew, having seen the glimpses of relief the Doctor had felt when he saw Bella again, safe and whole.

Their hug had been… difficult to witness, but Edward was glad Bella had someone who cared for her because this strange new attachment he felt toward the girl was misplaced and monstrous.

Alice called for him to come over because they had much to discuss while Carlisle strode toward the reunited Doctor and Bella.

Bella was in the middle of telling the Doctor how Edward had shown up at her window when the very person she was talking about caught her attention. She watched him stride over to Alice, who was waiting just under the cover of the trees, while the blonde, older man who had arrived with Alice and the Doctor began walking toward her.

'I don't believe I've had the pleasure, but I've heard so much about you from Alice and the Doctor,' the older, blonde man said upon reaching the Doctor's side. His hand reached out and Bella shook it, shivering a little at the slight chill that ran up her back from the simple touch.

'I'm Carlisle,' he said, his hand once again resting by his side.

'Oh, yes! Hi!' Bella smiled and glanced quickly over at Alice and Edward, who were both engrossed in their conversation, heads inclined toward each other. She refused to get jealous that everyone else but her could get close to Edward.

_Brother, brother, brother_, she chanted in her head. _Edward is her brother._

'Bella, we would love for you and the Doctor to accompany us back to our house. We have several items to discuss, of which the most pressing is how to deal with the nomad vampires heading our direction.' Carlisle held out his arm in the direction of his house, presumably. 'That is, if you don't mind.'

'Allons-y!' said the Doctor enthusiastically, walking briskly in the direction Carlisle had pointed to.

Bella hesitated. 'Is it alright if I leave a note for Charlie? I would hate for him to worry about me any more than he is already.'

Carlisle nodded. 'I understand. We will wait for you to return.'

Bella said a quick thanks, turned, and ran back to the house. She quickly scribbled out a brief note telling Charlie that she had to leave and she would be back soon. There was only one place Bella knew Charlie wouldn't miss the note, so she taped it to the television screen and darted off again, making sure to lock the front door behind her before taking off across the yard toward Alice, who is standing in the exact spot where she was before, but very alone from the looks of it.

Bella stopped in front of Alice and quickly glanced around, blatantly looking for Edward. Alice smiled a little and shook her head. 'It was better this way, trust me.'

Bella smiled sadly at Alice and nodded. 'He's still having trouble?'

'Yes, but not the way that you mean,' Alice said cryptically. Bella's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but Alice continued, 'Everyone's already left. Are you ready to go?'

'Yes, but you should know that I tend to be a bit clumsy, so you're going to need to go slow for me to keep up,' Bella replied.

Alice laughed. It didn't sound quite as good as Edward's laugh, but it was still musical and beautiful in its own right. 'Do you trust me, Bella?'

'Yes,' Bella said. There was no need to think about it. She just did.

Alice grinned, picked Bella up and twisted her around so she was secure on Alice's back. Then Alice took off, hearing Bella's squawk of surprise, but not feeling the death grip Bella had around her neck.

Alice didn't hear anything out of Bella during the short run back to the Cullen's house, but when Alice slowed down as they neared the house, she figured out why. Bella had stopped breathing.

Loosening Bella's arms from around her neck, Alice gently dropped Bella to her feet and watched as she took a rasping deep breath.

'What just happened?' Bella asked, her eyes crazed.

'We can run really fast. Sorry I didn't warn you ahead of time, but if I had, you would have balked. It would have taken us an hour to trek here at your pace,' Alice explained.

Bella just stared at her. 'Next time…' she started, pointing her index finger at Alice's chest and then rethought what she was going to say. 'Scratch that, there's not going to be a next time.'

Bella started off toward the house, which she could barely make out through the thick branches and overgrowth, and Alice skipped along beside her. 'You know, the Doctor loved it,' she claimed. Bella looked at her skeptically. 'He did. He traveled on Carlisle's back and laughed the entire- '

Alice cut off abruptly and Bella stopped to stare at her. Alice's eyes glazed over, which worried Bella. Was this something else that vampires did? Or could she possibly be having a vision?

Alice's eyes shot up to Bella's in the next instant, full of worry, and then Alice spun around toward the house, opened her mouth and screamed, 'Edward!'

Bella turned in time to see the Cullens, with Edward at the lead, rush out of the house just as three menacing-looking vampires ran between her and Alice and the house, effectively cutting her and Alice off from Alice's family and the Doctor.

How did she know they were vampires?

She ticked off the list in her head – same pale skin as Edward, Alice and Carlisle; they moved incredibly fast; and last, but not least, their blood red eyes were a clear indication that something was off about them. It didn't take a genius to piece the clues together.

Bella ran through her options. To her right – a hissing female vampire with wild flashing red hair that surrounded her pale white as a corpse skin. To her left – a male vampire with dreadlocks and the darker skinned of the three. In front of her – another male vampire, but with blonde, pulled-back hair, who appeared to be grinning. Then, of course, Alice stood beside her.

Just another day at the office then. No possibilities up or down, so the only way to go was backwards, deeper into the forest.

She took a tentative step back and then tensed when the vampire in front of her smirked and cocked his head to one side. 'What have we here? A snack for the family?' he hissed sinisterly.

Bella tensed, not wanting to attract anymore undue attention. Alice shoved Bella behind her as Edward growled in a tone so low Bella got goosebumps, 'Get her out of here!'

James turned his head briefly to look at Edward and the rest of the Cullen clan and Alice took that small opening, pulling Bella onto her back again and running as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Bella squeezed her eyes shut when she heard a furious yell and Alice said one of the most terrifying things she had ever heard.

'I'm not fast enough.'

Alice veered suddenly and Bella tightened her grip around Alice's neck. 'Edward's going to catch up to us in time,' she promised right as she spun around to face their three pursuers and unceremoniously dumped Bella on the ground behind her.

_Ow_, Bella thought with some bite and then felt immediately guilty for doing so because Alice was just trying to protect her.

Alice crouched down in a defensive stance and growled at the three 'evil vampires', as Bella had coined them in her head. They crouched down as well, but were taken aback when Edward showed up behind them. Bella could just see him past the blonde and red-headed vampires.

Those two turned to Edward while the dreadlocked one remained focus on Alice.

'If you touch her, I'll kill you,' Edward spat out in rage. Bella wasn't sure if he was referring to herself or Alice.

She hoped it was herself.

The blonde one hissed and then the red-head girl did as well. Edward bared his teeth and launched himself at them.

Bella had apparently missed something, but she didn't have time to work it out because the scene around her erupted with a flurry of movement, most of it blurry to her. She heard snarls and sharp cracks of sound, but couldn't make out what was happening.

All she knew was that she was scared and she didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Bella gasped as Edward and the two vampires he was fighting suddenly came into focus. Edward was standing in front of her, facing off the two vampires.

The blonde man smiled a bone-chilling smile, one that said that he was thinking about how she would taste. And then he, the red-head and Edward all disappeared from view. Two strong hands pulled Bella up to a standing position and the arms connected to those hands crashed her into a solid chest as they wrapped around her.

Everyone froze and she could clearly see them once again, sans the blonde evil guy.

_Guess that means he's the one holding me_, Bella reasoned, her heart pounding as fear pumped into her system.

The other evil vampires sauntered over to stand on either side of her and her captor and, from out of nowhere, Carlisle and four other vampires, two men and two women, appeared next to Alice and Edward. And the Doctor!

'Hold it right there,' ordered the Doctor in such a commanding voice that even Bella's snarling captor found himself obeying. The Doctor slid off Carlisle's back and gave him a thankful nod before turning back to Bella and the vampire holding her.

'What are their names, Edward?' he asked without taking his eyes off the evil vampires.

'The woman is Victoria, the one holding Bella is James, and the other man is Laurent,' answered Edward without missing a beat.

'I don't think you want to do that, James,' the Doctor warned as every Cullen crouched into defensive stances, mimicking the evil vampires' actions. 'You're outnumbered. How do you possibly think you'll escape with your life?'

'That may be, but at least I'll get a taste of this sweet' – he sniffed Bella's neck, making her tense and hold her breath – 'specimen before that happens.'

'Is that what you want? A specimen?' asked the Doctor, a crease appearing between his eyebrows as he studied the deadly predator in front of him.

'We can take them,' Victoria interrupted with a hiss.

James didn't acknowledge her, but kept his eyes riveted to the Doctor. He seemed to be studying him right back. 'I don't like being denied, especially when it's over the life of a human.' The way he emphasized the word "human" told everyone there how little he valued their lives. The Doctor's eyes flashed in anger.

'If you need a victim, then take a proper one,' suggested the Doctor with a nod.

James motioned to the frozen sweet-smelling girl in front of him, enjoying the feel of his fingers brushing through her hair. Victoria's unruly hair rarely saw the talons of a brush. 'I intend to,' he told the Doctor.

'Not her,' said the Doctor dismissively. 'She's no one. Just another human. They're ten a penny.'

Bella, as terrified for her life as she was, couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Just another human?_ Since when was she not good enough to eat?

'If you want to do this properly, you should treat yourself to a real delicacy,' suggested the Doctor. 'How about someone with two hearts? One who's the very last of his kind? One who has been hunted by every species known to… well, not man obviously, but certainly known to me? Now that's what I call a treat, eh? Am I right or am I right?'

Alice and Edward were the only ones who didn't respond to the Doctor's self-sacrifice. James hissed and stared at the Doctor as if listening to something far off. 'What are you?'

'Last of the Time Lords,' said the Doctor, throwing his hands in the air proudly. 'The one and only. A genuine dodo – last specimen of an extinct breed. You want to drain the blood from a "specimen" before the rival clan in this area kills you – better make it a good 'un.'

The Doctor stood waiting for a response. Bella's wide eyes met the Doctor's and, to her delight, he winked at her. Her spirits rose when she realized he had something in mind. Her gaze shifted momentarily to Edward and he locked his eyes with hers, silently asking her if she was alright.

Of course she was. The Doctor had a plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight, Doctor Who, or any of their characters.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The Doctor hoped this worked. Because if it didn't, he couldn't see another way out.

That's not true. There was always another way out, but not one that he necessarily wanted Bella to take with him.

Bella…

No, he mustn't dwell on how much danger she was currently in. It would only prove as a distraction. He kept talking, not even really paying attention to what he was saying. Just spouting off nonsense to keep the one called James focused on him and not Bella.

He finished his little speech, slipping his sonic screwdriver out from his coat pocket, and glanced down at Bella. She looked terrified, the poor girl. He positioned his finger over the sonic screwdriver's activation button and winked at her, letting her know it would be alright very soon.

Edward, standing to the right of him, caught his eye and nodded. It was time. Edward knew the plan, just as the rest of the Cullens did, except Alice. They were all okay with what was about to happen and the consequences that might occur. The lanky blonde named Jasper had assured the Doctor that Alice would be okay with it as well.

James' eyes darted between the Doctor and Edward and then he growled, snapping Bella's head to one side, about to rip into her throat. The Doctor activated the screwdriver before that could happen, however.

And it worked.

One second James moved to lunge at Bella's throat and the next he was frozen in place.

'I knew I was brilliant,' he cried to Bella, who was staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

'What just happened?' she asked, turning her head out of James' grip.

The Doctor looked around and then focused back on Bella. 'It seems I was successfully able to boost Jake's power and link him, the TARDIS, and my screwdriver together to lock on to the vampires' higher frequency brain waves, affectively freezing them,' he explained.

Bella was finally able to free herself from James' arm and straightened her shirt back into place. 'They're frozen? Like statues?' she asked tentatively, staring at Edward's still face.

'Yes, in a manner of speaking,' replied the Doctor, reaching out for Bella's hand. 'We need to leave now.'

Bella tore her eyes away from Edward and stared at the Doctor. 'Is it permanent?'

'No, nothing ever is,' he said warily, having noticed Bella's preoccupation with the mind reader. He took her hand in his and they began running south, back toward the Cullen house.

'Are they aware of what's going on?' Bella asked, slightly panting the words as she tried to keep up with the Doctor's long-legged pace.

'I'm not sure,' he answered, periodically glancing down at his sonic screwdriver to see how much power it had left.

'Do you know when they'll come out of it?' Bella looked over her shoulder, fear creeping back into her when she thought of how close she had come to being food.

That was twice in one day.

Maybe she should rethink her choice of deodorant because clearly something about her scent made some vampires go into a frenzy.

'Hopefully when I shut off the signal.'

'_Hopefully_??' Bella echoed in an almost shrieking voice as they came to an abrupt stop. The Doctor didn't respond as he knelt down to where Jake was standing and patted him on the head.

'I do not know how much longer I can run with this level of power, Master,' Jake said with a hint of anxiety in his tone.

'You're doing terrific, Jake. Just a moment longer,' the Doctor said, flipping open the panel protecting Jake's main input controls. 'Just need to divert the power back to the TARDIS… and then disconnect him… and voila!' he exclaimed, pushing one last button and looking up at Bella with a wide grin.

'But how do we know it worked?' Bella pointed out, casting nervous glances around them.

'Umm… right. Excellent point,' conceded the Doctor, shrugging. 'We wait?'

* * *

Edward watched, as best he could, as Bella wiggled out of James' clutches. He couldn't move his eyes, nor his eyelids, mouth or any part of his body. But he _could_ see and hear.

Bella was going to be alright.

And James would pay for touching her, for threatening her life.

'They're frozen? Like statues?' he heard Bella ask, just out of the corner of his sight. It was frustrating to be unable to move his eyes the miniscule amount it would take to see her, but it was enough to know she was alive.

His family members were strategizing, waiting for the moment when they would be set free from this imprisonment.

James and Victoria were howling in rage and spitting vengeance in every thought. Laurent was regretting ever joining up with James, if this was how it was going to end.

Edward heard Bella and the Doctor leave. Relief moved through him the further Bella ran away.

He counted the seconds as the Doctor and Bella's footsteps, breaths, heartbeats, and voices became weaker. He listened to Jasper's cautions, Alice's predictions, Carlisle's warnings, Esme's comfort, Rosalie's wrath, and Emmett's excitement. He filed away James' ravings and Victoria's odium as fodder for his own fury. Laurent was too confused to be of much use, for either side, but he would bear the weight of his companions' sins regardless.

There would be no mercy today.

The Doctor and Bella were not far enough away that Edward had to concentrate to hear them, but just enough that it would take a few moments to reach them. He now counted down the seconds until they would be released. He knew the time was drawing close.

And then all at once his muscles relaxed and he could _move_.

In the next millisecond he lunged for James. Alice and Emmett went after Victoria. Rosalie and Carlisle went for Laurent. Jasper helped Edward tear James apart as Esme started the fire that would burn all three, marking their exit from this earth.

Before the time it would take a human to breathe, it was done. And then Edward was off, flying over the short distance that separated him from Bella. He needed to be near her. To see for himself that she was in one piece.

* * *

'We wait?!' That was the last straw. Bella was good and mad now, working herself up into a right tiff. 'That's your brilliant plan? I can't believe you would put them in that much danger!'

'They knew of the consequences and accepted them. That's why it took so long to get to you. I had to explain what I planned to do and then go get Jake here and position him within 500 feet of you,' he shouted right back. 'Now calm down because lover boy is right behind you, completely unscathed.'

_Lover –_

Bella whipped around and gaped at the sight of Edward standing not ten metres away. He did indeed look unscathed, but she couldn't help asking, 'Are you alright?'

'Yes. It took less than a minute for us to… dispose of them.'

'By dispose, you mean…' Bella couldn't say the word, much less think it.

'Yes,' Edward stated, not bothering to hide it.

'Do I want to know the details?'

'No.' He didn't want her to have those types of images in her head. She deserved better. 'Are you alright? Did _he_ hurt you?'

'No, I'm fine,' Bella replied. She turned back to ask the Doctor something, but he wasn't next to her anymore. He was several yards away, talking to the rest of the Cullens, four of which she still hadn't met.

'Want to introduce me to the rest of your family?' she asked, giving Edward a shy smile.

'It would be my pleasure. But may I request a favor first?' Alice saw what Edward had decided to do and shouted joyfully in her mind. Then she warned him to take it slow.

Bella smiled brightly. 'Of course.'

'Would you follow me?'

Bella nodded slowly, looking confused, but determined.

Edward took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn't need to do such a thing, but it relaxed him for some reason. Bella's scent hit him hard, but having seen her in James' clutches moments ago was enough for him to want to be better, stronger than his overwhelming lust for her blood.

He turned and walked through the dense trees until he determined it was far enough away for the Doctor to hear anything. He pivoted around and saw Bella stop about the same distance away that they had been before.

He wanted to be closer to her. He wanted to be able to stand next to her and feel the warmth radiating from her body without having murderous thoughts. He knew he was selfish for wanting this, but the only thing that could stop him would be Bella's request for him to do so.

If something were to happen, his family was close enough that they could stop him and he could still hear Alice's thoughts. She would see if he planned on hurting Bella in any way. Alice sent an encouraging thought his way with the image of him and Bella conversing in close proximity without the need of anything standing between them.

That knowledge reassured Edward enough that he took a step forward, watching Bella as her eyes widened and her breaths became shallower. He waited and then took another step forward. Two more and he stood right in front of her.

'Edward…' she breathed, staring up at him with a heartbreakingly hopeful expression. Her heart was pounding away so hard in her fragile chest that he was worried that it would hurt her. Her pale skin turned a beautiful shade of pink, tempting him to reach out and touch her.

He found it was easier to be near her with each breath and Bella performed admirably throughout, remaining still and trying to keep her breathing even.

It was perhaps a few minutes before Edward allowed himself to relax the tiniest amount and smile at Bella.

Her eyebrows rose in question and he nodded, wanting to hear her thoughts.

Always.

Forever.

'Can I touch you?' she asked demurely, another radiant blush streaking across her cheeks.

Edward swallowed. Touch? Could he handle that?

Alice sent vision after vision of him doing such a thing and it slowly built up his confidence.

He could do it.

A touch. A single touch from her, to prove to himself that he could be stronger than the monster living within him.

Edward slowly nodded, amazed that she willingly wanted to touch him, and watched as she gathered her own strength. She reached out timidly and slipped her hand into his, gripping it lightly. The heat seared his skin, but he bore it without flinching, not wanting to scare her off.

'Is this okay?'

'Yes,' he replied, because it was.

How was it possible that only ten minutes ago he had been viciously tearing apart another vampire and now it was as if time stood still while this beautiful, wondrous girl held his hand?

He wanted to touch her in turn.

So he lifted his free hand and softly caressed her cheek with one finger. Edward stared into her eyes, searching for any sign of reluctance or revulsion, but she showed neither. Her eyes, he decided, were so deep that he could stare into them for the rest of his days and never tire of them.

_"Windows to the soul."_

The phrase echoed in his mind as he tried to figure out Bella's soul. It was an old one – that he recognized almost immediately – but had he a soul himself, would it have recognized hers on any other day, in any other situation?

He thought out of everyone he'd ever come across, Bella was the only one for whom he would willingly give up his immortality, his "gift", his life. For a day, an hour, a minute. To know what it would be like to just be a boy, standing in front of a girl, knowing it was just a matter of time before they fell in love.

Edward took a step back, breaking their connection as he realized his mistake.

He had hoped for the impossible.

He had hoped for her love.

* * *

Bella didn't know what just happened, but whatever Edward had thought of before stepping away, he was closed off to her again. She felt harrowing sadness as she trudged alongside Edward, making their way back to the others. Once she had the Doctor in sight, she ran over to him and remained by his side throughout the introductions to the rest of the Cullen family, mustering a smile for each new person.

Edward was staring at her. She knew this because she could feel the heat coming from his eyes, but she refused to look at him. She was being petty, but she was a woman scorned. She needed more from him than he was going to ever give her. Plus she traveled with the Doctor. There was no room for him in her life, so why should she bother?

After chatting away amicably with the Cullens for a while, Bella noticed the sun had almost set, which is when the Doctor turned to her and announced that they should be leaving.

Bella's stomach dropped as she nodded, shooting a look over to Edward. She wanted more time with him, but such was life with the Doctor. They never stayed in one place for very long.

This was what she wanted, she reminded herself. She had left everything for him – her mother, her school, her life – everything to be with the Doctor.

'I need to say good-bye to Charlie first,' she said evenly, proud of herself for staying strong when all she wanted to do was stomp her foot and demand more time.

'Alright. Do you want to meet me at the TARDIS when you're finished?' suggested the Doctor.

'Sure.' She looked around and then flushed. 'Um… which way do I go?'

'I'll take you,' Edward volunteered quite unexpectedly.

Bella shuffled her feet and looked pointedly at Alice, who she thought was her friend. Alice stared back with a smirk. Bella's eyes narrowed and then she sighed. 'Fine.'

Bella waited until Edward walked a little ways into the trees before stomping off after him. She was relieved he hadn't insisted on carrying her on his back.

Fifteen minutes later she found herself in front of the Cullen's house. She looked at Edward skeptically and he gave her a little smile.

'I said I would take you there. You didn't think I meant walking, did you?'

'Oh,' was all she managed to say because she _had_ thought that.

Edward led her to a garage behind the house, right up to a silver Volvo. He opened the passenger door and held it for her as she slid across the seat's soft leather.

The drive over to Charlie's was terse and tension-filled, but silent. Edward brought the car to a stop across the street from Charlie's place.

'I'll wait here,' he said quietly. Bella scrambled out of the car and headed across the street.

Charlie was happy to see her, only giving her a short, stern lecture about leaving the house after he had told her to stay there. Bella played her part of the chastised daughter well, making her bottom lip quiver a little, which quickly halted any further "lecturing". She found a way to say good-bye to him without actually crying and they hugged. Charlie made her promise to visit him more and she agreed, because she really had missed him, and Bella threw in with her promise that next time she would stay longer than a day.

The street lights were the only illumination outside when they waved good-bye, Bella on the sidewalk and Charlie framed in the open front door. Bella walked over to Edward's car and opened the passenger door, slipping inside just a little sadder than when she had left.

Edward started the engine and waited until they had turned off Charlie's street before finally speaking. 'Bella…' he started and then found himself unable to say anything else. What could he say? This was for the best. She was leaving him, just as she should.

But was her leaving with the Doctor the best thing for her? Shouldn't she be with her father or mother instead of traipsing through multiple universes, getting into all sorts of trouble?

'Are you sure you want to do this?' he finally asked, parking the car in an available spot down the street a little ways from the TARDIS.

'Yes. My life is with the Doctor now. I can't think of anything else I would want to do,' she said, only slightly unsure if that was true anymore, before getting out of the car.

Edward exited the car as well and placed his hands on top of the roof. 'Under different circumstances – wait, Bella.'

He closed his door and jogged around the car as she started walking away. He gently reached for her hand when he caught up with her, forcing her to pause in mid-step. Now that he knew he could touch her, he found himself unable to stop. He tilted her head up until her eyes met his. 'Under different circumstances, do you think you… that we… could have been friends?'

'Friends?' Bella repeated, staring into his eyes. When had this boy marked his name on her heart alongside the Doctor's? When did wanting to make him happy become a need for her to fill? Had she really only met him this morning?

It seemed like longer.

'Yes, I think we could have been friends,' she answered, not having to think about it. She would have been friends, acquaintances, lovers with him – whatever he would have wanted and was willing to give. But that was before she met the Doctor. Leaving people behind was what she did now. What she had to do to stay with him.

The Doctor needed her.

Her decision was made.

One corner of Edward's mouth quirked up sadly, almost as if he had read her thoughts, and he released her.

They continued on to the TARDIS in silence and when they reached the rest of the group, they shared a lingering look before Alice grabbed her into a heartfelt hug. Alice whispered, 'I'm glad I met you.'

Bella smiled and squeezed Alice as hard as she could, returning the sentiment. They separated and Bella turned to say good-bye to the rest of the Cullens. The Doctor and Carlisle shook hands and Carlisle gave him an open invitation to visit them whenever they were in town.

After Bella was done saying good-bye to everyone but the one she didn't think she could say those words to, that very person walked up to her. Edward smiled sadly and gently brushed his knuckles across her cheek. 'I hope you have a great life, full of adventure and excitement,' he wished in earnest.

Bella bit her lip and nodded at him, eyes filling with tears as she silently thanked him for understanding her and not making this harder than it could have been. The Doctor called for her to hurry because it was time to go. Bella spent one last minute staring at Edward before he bent down and whispered in her ear, 'Be safe.'

With that he turned and walked over to his family. Bella made her way to the Doctor and hugged his side. 'Let's go,' she said, trying to sound strong, but failing.

They headed inside and not ten seconds later, the TARDIS disappeared. Air and empty space were once again the only occupants where the blue police box had stood.

Edward felt a part of himself rip away in that instant. He couldn't stop looking at the spot where she had just been. Members of his family drifted away, giving him his space, and soon it was only him, Alice and Carlisle.

Alice hugged him, but he didn't respond. 'It's going to be okay,' she said quietly.

_Sure it was_, he scoffed. He riffled through her thoughts, but she wasn't giving him anything, especially not about Bella. In fact, it seemed she was better at blocking him now more than ever. His eyebrows found their way to each other and a little crease line appeared in between them as he stared down at her.

She let go of him and shrugged. 'The Doctor gave us some tips,' she explained.

He snorted. The Doctor. Of course.

Edward looked over at Carlisle and sighed. It was time to go. Time to become a faux human again and pretend he wasn't dying instead with loneliness. Time to forget that for a second he had glimpsed happiness in the form of a petite, brown-haired girl.

He moved to leave, but Alice suddenly grabbed his arm in an unbreakable grip. Edward frowned and tried to pull his arm away without hurting her, but she didn't budge. 'Wait,' she pleaded, looking over her shoulder.

Edward's gaze followed hers and he heard the sound that had preceded Bella's disappearing. If his heart had the ability to beat, it would be pounding right now as the TARDIS appeared in the exact same spot.

Alice dropped his arm, but he didn't notice as he stared with mouth agape at the blue box, willing for one of its inhabitants to come outside.

The door opened to two astonished vampires and one smirking one. Bella popped her head out. She smiled at Edward's expression and tilted her head to one side. 'You coming?' she asked.

Alice smiled smugly and let him see what would happen if he went with them – he was actually smiling in her vision, which didn't happen often – and he made a spilt second decision. 'Are you sure?'

He needed to know before he would ever agree to do something so dangerous. He refused to think of all the little details that should have been guiding him in his decision and instead focused on Bella and what she wanted. He couldn't deny her anything.

'Yes, I am,' she replied, her eyes starting to shine with something akin to hope. The door opened wider and the Doctor appeared behind Bella.

'Well, come on then. We haven't got all day. Places to see, people to save, a stable to build… things to do,' he said impatiently before disappearing back into the box.

Bella grinned and Edward met her smile with his own before stepping in front of her. 'He _does_ know that the fun part about hunting is the actual hunt, right?' he teased before reaching for her hand. Bella laughed and eagerly entwined her fingers with his. They both turned to wave good-bye to Alice and Carlisle before heading inside.

The door closed behind them and the TARDIS vanished for the final time that day. Carlisle looked at Alice when she sighed. 'Don't worry,' she assured him. 'They'll be back in thirty-three days.'

'You can see them right now?' Carlisle asked curiously.

'No, not right this second, but I know when they'll be back,' she answered with a small smile.

They started for home at a human pace, letting their minds go over everything they had experienced today with the knowledge that they wouldn't have to hide their thoughts any longer, when Alice stopped without warning and glazed out for a second. 'Make that thirty-four days,' she corrected herself with a smirk.

Carlisle laughed.

* * *

**A/N:** I've been asked if I'm going to continue this at all and I think I will. It won't be anytime soon since I have to finish RG first, but another adventure featuring the Doctor, Bella and Edward is working itself out in my head as we speak.

Thank you so much for reading.


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